Arrangement for locking and unlocking a pulling member in different positions



Jan.'1,l952 Y e. K. J. BROBERG ARRANGEMENT F'O 2,581,235 R LOCKING AND UNLOCKING A PULLING MEMBER IN DIFFERENT POSITIONS Filed June 17, 1949 INVENTOR GEORG KARL JOHAN BROBERG BY HIS ATTORNEYS 5 mm /7%wzw7% Patented Jan. I, 1952 ARRANGEMENT FOR LOOKING AND UN LOCKING A PULLIN G MEMBER IN DIFFERENT POSITIONS Georg Karl Johan Broberg, Solna, Sweden, assignor to A. B. Svenska Flitktfabriken, Stockholm, Sweden Application] une 17, 1949,.Serial No. 99,831 In Sweden June 18, 1948 8 Claims.

The present invention relates to an arrangement for locking and unlocking a pulling memher in different positions and the most characteristic feature of the invention is that it consists of a locking member attached to thepulling member, which locking member together with the pulling member is slidable back and forth between two parallel guiding rails in a guiding member, provided with guide arrangements, which guide the locking member parallelly. between the guiding rails but permit it to turn around an axis perpendicular to a plane through the guiding rails, said locking member in the plane of rotation having a maximum length greater than and a maximum width smaller than the distance between the parallel guiding rails and furthermore having the locking member operatable by arrangements, which, at least when the arrangement is in use, try to turn the locking member into contact with and pressing against both the guiding rails, parallel with each other. Other features characteristic for the invention are evident from a couple of embodiments, closer described in the following.

Although the invention is utilizable at all occasions when it is desired to lock or unlock a pulling member in different positions, it is in the first place intended to be used in connection with pulling arrangements for opening and closing ventilators of different types. A particular quality by the present invention thereby makes it especially valuable, namely, that from a position with closed ventilator it only permits a successive opening of the ventilator with locking in the different positions, but on the other hand no return from and opening position to another one with smaller flowing area is possible unless the ventilatorfirst has passed its maximum opening position and from this position returned to totally closed ventilator and thereafter is reopened. Experience has proved that persons, who are going to open a ventilator by means of a pulling arrangement, often are jerking and pulling back and forth in the pulling arrangement without being able to adjust the ventilator in the position desired, depending on the fact that they do not know the function of the mechanism of the ventilator and from want of judgment operate it wrongly until it breaks or complain over that the mechanism does not work as it should. It oftens happens that the contractor issent for, in order to adjust the mechanism and that he finds the mechanism in order and that opening and closing is perfectly performed when the mechanism is operated competently. Such wrong use of the pulling arrangement for the opening and closing of a ventilator is made impossible by the arrangement'according to the invention because the pulling arrangement is only possible to pull in one direction at a time from one end position to another while passing all of the locking positions and can only be turned in the end positions and be pulled in the opposite direction, in which case the locking positions may be utilized or not utilized as they are passed.

The accompanying drawing schematically shows some examples of embodiments of the invention in different operation positions.

Figures 1 and 2 show one embodiment, and

Figures 3 and 4 the other. 7

In Figures 1 and 2, the locking member is designated 5, the pulling member 6 and the guiding rails, parallel with each other, are designated 1 and 8. The guiding rail 1 is provided with stop arrangements 9, having the shape of recesses in the guiding rail. Instead of recesses 9 small projecting parts of the same size may be used as stop arrangements. Openings in the guiding rail I are designated l0 and II, the openings being larger and deeper than the recesses 9. These openings in and II are turning positions for the locking member 5, by which the locking member may turn and be pulled by the pulling member in opposite direction between the guiding rails, when one end of the locking member has entered one of the openings 19 or II. The locking member 5 has such a length in the plane of the figure that it cannot be turned around between the guiding rails in this plane.

The locking member 5 in Figures 1 and 2 has a pear-like contour with plane front and back sides, parallel to each other. .These plane side surfaces are guided by plane walls, parallel to each other, of which only the wall l2 between the guiding rails is visible in the drawing. The last-mentioned walls form guiding arrangements for the locking member which arrangements prevent the locking member to turn in other planes than a plane, parallel with these walls and situated between the walls The locking 3 member in other words turns around axes perpendicular to the walls. In the plane of rotation mentioned the locking member has a maxium length greater than an a smallest width smaller than the distance between the guiding rails l and 8, thus always enabling the locking member by turning in this plane to come into contact with and be pressed against the guiding rails i and 3 but furthermore said locking member may be turned into a position: in which it freely may be pulled between the guiding rails l and 8. The point of the locking member is designated l3 and the opposite end which is curved, is designated 14. placed by a slightly curved top.

The pulling member 6 consists of a flexible rope which is pulled through a drilledhole I5 in the locking member and conveniently so "that the drilled hole passes through the centre of gravity of the locking member. A knot, l6, l1

respectively, on both sides of thelockingmember 5 looks said locking member to the ropeli. A spring is designated l8, connecting the pulling member 6 with the ventilator, not shown; The opposite end of the pulling member is operated by hand and intended for pulling. The different positions of the locking member shown in Figures 1 and 2 are designated A, B; C, D, E and F.

In Figure 2 the ventilator is closed when the locking member is in position A. When pulling the rope 6 downwards the spring 18 is stretched and the locking member will occupy position B and may be pulled by the rope the whole way to the lower turning position II between the guiding rails 1 and 8 without being locked. If pulling of the rope 6 ceases the spring i8 will pull the locking member 5 back until the point l3 slips into the nearest situated recess 9, after which continued pulling of the spring l8 turns the locking member 5 with the recess 9 as rotation centre until the curved end M-of the locking member 5'comes into contact with and is pressed against the guiding rail 3, the locking member'5 thus being locked inthis position and the ventilator kept open in a correspondingposition. By continued pulling downwards by hand on the rope '6, the locking member is again unlocked and may be locked in any one of the following locking positions, for instance position C. On

the other hand it is impossible by means of the spring to pull the locking member upwardsafter until the point l3 enters the nearest -recess "9. A person not familiar with'the mechanism soon finds out that he only can pullthe ventilator to an entirely open position and when this is done the point [3' of the locking member enters the opening II and is turned, and when the rope is released the spring will rapidly pull the locking member past positions D, E and F back to the original position A with closed ventilator and with the point of the locking member in the opening I!) where the locking member again turns and by repeated pulling downwards on the rope may be locked in whichever of the locking positions representedby the recesses 9. Wrong operation is excluded because spring l-8,'when the entirely open position is reached and whenever so little of the rope is released, will function and jerk the locking member into closed position before it may be counteracted.

From the drawing it is evident that the rope is pulled in such a way through or fastened to Y the locking member so that the member, always has a tendency to adjustitselfwith its longi tudinal axis perpendicular to the longitudinal The point l3 may in certaincases be re- 4 direction of the rope, that is, straight across the pulling channel, formed by the guiding rails, intended for the locking member.

The stop arrangements 9 are not always necessary because the locking member can be made to interlock itself only by means of friction between the guiding rails by turning the locking member in a manner described before.

The wall l2 and the opposite wall, parallel with the iormenone, are not'ne'cessary either. They maybe replaced by other guiding arrangements. Longitudinally arranged lists on the guiding rails may for instance extend into corresponding recessesin the contacting surfaces of the locking member,

'Ifthe-pulling member consists of a rod and the locking member is rotatably arranged on the rod,;-the locking-member must be capable of being influenced by-a force, for instance a spring, having'apermanent tendency to turn the lockingmernbentma position with the longitudinal axispfithe locking member perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the rod. This rotating tendency is by the flexible rope efiected by means of those moments, to which the person and the spring via --the rope su'bj ect the lockingmem'ber.

In *FiguresB. andd the locking member consists of -a plate -made of resilient material which by one bending has been-formed to the shape of the number 6 viewed-in cross-section. This locking member-is so disposed between the guiding rails that by the turning ofthe guided-body between the guiding rails, the turning is eflected around anaxis-parallel to thesides of the bent body.

The straight part of thislocking member isdes ignated il 9 and the. curved part .20.. Owing to the fact that the..part 26 isnota closedrloop thispart is resilient. through a hole 2 in the part '28 near the free end ofthe part and from there diametrically. overthispart and out throughanother-hole 2'2. Inithis'latter hole-22 :the rope freely but in the-former hole 2| the rope is fastened by means of a knot 23, 24 respectively, on each side of the hole-2 L This-arrangement fiunctionsi-n a special way which increases the interlockingof thelocking -mem'b'er between-the guiding rails and facili-- tates the unlocking of the locking member from the interlocking. By pulling-downwards inthe rope- 6 in Figure 4 the diameter ofthe loop will decrease and the locking member is easily unlocked-from the locked position, *but if "the rope- 6 in Figure 4 ispulled upwards the diameter of the loop Will -increase and is easily interlocked between theguiding rails.

Having'nowdescribed my inventiom what I claim as new,-a;nd desire to secure by United States Letters Patent, is:

1. Apparatus for securing a pulling member in different longitudinal positions, comprising a pair of parallel guide members disposed in predetermined spaced relation and defining a channel therebetween, atleast one of said" guide members having recesses therein at selected intervals longitudinally of the member to provide turn zones of greater widththan the channel, an elongated locking/member in said channel slidable longitudinally thereof and having a lengthfgreater than the normal width or" the channelqand less than the width of the said turn zones therein so that rotational movement of the locking member in the, channel is prevented except at said turn zones, and a pulling member "connected to said locking member and tending normally to urge the locking member" The repe t is inthis ease -pulled to a position transverse the channel with its opposite ends engaged against the adjacent guide members, said pulling member acting in one direction to draw the locking member angularly.

through the channel from one turn zone to the next turn zone and acting in the opposite direction to draw the locking member in the opposite direction through the channel in the reverse angular position, and the. engagement of the guide members by the opposite ends of the angulz'arly disposed locking member operating after initial movement of the-locking member in one direction from one turn zone to prevent movement of the locking member in the reverse direction before the locking member reaches the next turn zone.

2. Apparatus for securing a pulling member in difierent longitudinal positions, comprising a pair of parallel guide members disposed in predetermined spaced relation and defining a channel therebetween, at least one of said guide members having recesses therein at selected intervals longitudinally of the member to provide turn zones of greater width than the channel, an elongated locking member in said channel slidable longitudinally thereof and having a length greater than the normal width of the channel and less than the width of the said turn zones therein so that rotational movement of the locking member in the channel is prevented except at said turn zones, a pulling member connected to said locking member and tending normally to urge the locking member to a position transverse the channel withits opposite ends engaged against the adjacent guide members, said pulling member acting in one direction to draw the locking member angularly through the channel from one turn zone to the next turn zone and acting in the opposite direction to draw the locking member in the opposite direction through the channel in the reverse angular position, the engagement of the guide members by the opposite ends of the angularly disposed locking member operating after initial movement of the locking member in one direction from one turn zone to prevent movement of the locking member in the reverse direction before the locking member reaches the next turn zone, and spring means normally urging the pulling member in one direction operable after movement of the locking member a part of the distance in the opposite direction between adjacent turn zones to retain said locking member in the position to which actuated.

3. Apparatus for securing a pulling member in different longitudinal positions, comprising a pair of parallel guide members disposed in predetermined spaced relation and defining a channel therebetween, at least one of said guide members having recesses therein at selected intervals longitudinally of the member to provide turn zones of greater width than the channel, an elongated locking member in said channel slidable longitudinally thereof and having a length greater than the normal width of the channel and less than the width of the said turn zones therein so that rotational movement of the locking member in the channel is prevented except at said turn zones, said locking member being rounded at one end and pointed at its other end, and a pulling member connected to said locking member and tending normally to urge the locking member to a position transverse the channel with its opposite ends engaged against the adjacent guide members,

said pulling member acting in "one direction todraw the locking member angularly throughv the channel from one turn zone tothe next turn zone with its pointed end trailing the rounded end and acting in the opposite direction to draw the locking member in the opposite direction through the channel in the reverse angular position, and the guide member adjacent the pointed end of the locking member having notches therein for engagement by said pointed. end to prevent movement of the locking mem-= ber in the reverse direction after initial movement thereof in a predetermined direction from; one turn zone by the opposite ends of the angularly disposed locking member operating after initial movement of the locking member in one direction from one turn zone to prevent movement of the locking member in the reverse direction.

4. Apparatus for securing a pulling member in different longitudinal positions, comprising a pair of parallel guide members disposed in predetermined spaced relation and defining a channel therebetween, at least one of said guide members having recesses therein at selected intervals longitudinally of the member to provide turn zones of greater width than the channel, an elongated locking member in said channel slidable longitudinally thereof and having a length greater than the normal width of the channel and less than the width of the said turn zones therein so that rotational movement of the locking member in the channel is prevented except at said turn zones, said locking member being rounded at one end and pointed at its other end, and a pulling member connected to said lOOkiIlg member and tending normally to urge the locking member to a position transverse the channel with its opposite ends engaged against the adjacent guide mem-' bers, said pulling member acting in one direction to draw the locking member angularly through the channel from one turn zone to the next turn zone with its pointed end trailing the rounded end and acting in the opposite direction to draw the locking member in the opposite direction through the channel in the reverse angular position, the engagement of the guide member adjacent the pointed end of the locking member having notches therein for engagement by said pointed end to prevent movement of the locking member in the reverse direction after initial movement thereof in a predetermined direction from one turn zone by the opposite ends of the angularly disposed locking member operating after initial movement of the locking member in one direction from one turn zone to prevent movement of the locking member in the reverse direction, and spring means normally urging the pulling member in one direction operable after movement of the locking member in the opposite direction between adjacent turn zones and en-- gagement of its pointed end in one of said notches to retain said pointed end of the locking member engaged in said notch against movement of the member in the opposite direction.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the pulling member consists of a flexible rope fixedly connected to the locking member and extending therethrough in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the member in the plane.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the pulling member consists of a flexible rope fixedly connected to the locking member and extending through an opening therein which passes substantiallye through..-=.the: :cen'tre 10f; sgravity :of the figuration :having. a substantially semi+spherica1 base.

8. Apparatuses claimed insclaim 1 wherein-the locking. member rise fabricated of resilient, :plate material having ,one end thereof bent to provide a. rounded portion .at 'oneiend of the member, the.

other-end :thereof havingethe thickness of'the.

plate material for engagement with the: adjacent guidermemher.,.,

GEORG JQHAN' BROBERGN REFERENCES ACI'EED The following "references are' of"record-in"=the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 1 Number Name Date Lissauenet a1 [June 21, 1932 Sne11 1 Feb. 13,1940

FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date GreateBritain Feb. 24, 1947 

